King's Guard
by Chrystalwolfbrat89
Summary: This story deals with male chauvinists and female suppression and rebelling against world order. All of my stories are AU's. Also, my plot bunnies and my muse runs away and hides often, so beware of non-consistencies.
1. Chapter 1

This story has so many holes and I had to stop often in order to find my muse who kept running away and hiding. So, when you don't hear from me in a while, this is the reason.

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The world had ended, but even thought that has happened, life had not given up on trying to survive in an post-apocolyptic event that we call the domination of mankind. The person who had instigated this destruction was an American ex-General of the United States Army named Slade Wilson, and through his influence had turned the government into puppets and he was the puppeteer pulling the strings of destruction.

Through his influence, he became the ruler of the world, and the title of King/ High-lord is used in the place of President. He took the remains of the White House, and had his workers build him a castle claiming that a King must have a castle.

Usually when someone declares power over humanity, someone tries to fight back, and usually that causes some sort of revolution to overthrow the King, or demand he becomes nicer to his citizens, especially when his law states that all females must attend to the kitchen, aid to their man, bear lots of children, and overall, be mindful of the law at all times. There are exceptions to the rules, such as if there are women, young girls, female orphans, or widowed, then they must adhere to the first rule which is to stay in the kitchen.

Let me be the first to tell you that the law sucks, especially if some of the women were serving their country as a part of the Armed Forces. The women were seperated from the useful or the useless. I was part of the useful, and so was my younger sister, but my sister was booted when they found out that she was three months pregnant. She was sent to go live with our mother who took excellent care of her and her baby. I stayed and utilized my anger into learning everything that the military had to offer, and when the King's Guard opened up in position, I jumped at the chance to enlist.

I had gone to the interview dressed for battle, in case the Men had a challenge they wished to set, or if the King had wanted to meet the only female to excel in everything that was offered, who took command when given the chance and led the team to victory every time, who showed ambition as well as pride, and most of all, the only female who was not afraid of the King. The King saw a fiery soul, and he wanted that soul for himself, to break if nothing else.

The Men had set a challenge, which was to infiltrate the local bandits, single out the leader, return for further orders, and apply the execution or pardon to said order. The King was not surprised to hear that the Men had set such a difficult task, but what had surprised him the most was when she opened her mouth and asked a question.

**"Pardon my intrusion, but may I speak?"** She asked in such an odd manner that even the King looked slightly confused.

The King spoke before the Men could,** "Granted".**

**"Yes, sir. I just have one question, and my question is this; what would happen if I became the leader of these bandits?"**

**"And what makes you think that you would be placed into such a position"**, said one of the Men who, genuarily, wanted to know.

**"I don't, sir, it is just a question."** This female had intelligence, which made her of value to the king, even if the Men below thought otherwise.

The king thought about it, and decided, **"You have your orders, soldier! If you do become the leader, you still have to report your findings to me, your King, is that understood?"**

I jumped to attention, saluted with my fist to my heart, and proudly shouted, **"Yes, King Slade, sir!"**

The Men smiled. The King smiled. They all saluted, and I departed to pack my things and to "get lost". Before I completely left the the building, one of the guards stopped me, as he just arrived on duty and didn't know why a female soldier was here. Guard stations are manned by two soldiers at all times, the guards before them were supposed to inform the new guards all who had an audience with the King and his Men, regardless of status. I looked at him and his partner, and smiled a truely wicked grin, and I knocked them both out in 10 seconds flat. I heard silence, so I looked back, and everyone was in shock, some fainted, some had a hand on their weapons, but the only one who wasn't as surprised as everyone else was the King. He had his mouth open, sure, but he looked expectantly at the female soldier, which was me. I smiled , waved goodbye, and took off for the barracks.

My stuff was already packed thinking that I would've been accepted into the King's Guard. My plan is in motion the moment I knocked out those two guards. I didn't have much, just some civilian clothes, my uniform, and all of my weapons. I grabbed my sports bag, and left the grounds before the King and his Men sent the hounds after me.

Three days later after my "escape", I found that living on the streets was really easy, and that the hardest part was to act like it was hard. I had to look the part of a wash-out, or I wasn't going to find those rebels. Throughout History, rebels show up when they're needed the most and I needed to look desperate enough for them to help me. Still, living on the streets, in the middle of Autumn, was not my most ideal way of catching their eyes, but I'm trying, plus it's a good thing that this land doesn't get much of a winter or I'd be screwed. At least I look like a boy most of the time, but I was really a girl in hiding, and hiding I'll stay.

I got my food from stealing fruits from vendors or from supermarkets, but I didn't take more than what I needed. On occasion, I did see some runaways, some human-pets with broken collars, and some broken females from other peoples that I don't want to know where they had come from, and I did try to lend a helping hand, but I was turned down most of the time, because I looked like a boy, and in their eyes a boy meant more trouble than what I was worth. Although some females saw the gentle soul that I was portraying, and I helped them survive the city, and move us to the deserted farmhouse that I had found when I was scouting with my old unit.

The farmhouse was just located on the outskirts of the city, about a mile or two from the city walls, and I stole food for all of us plus I made sure to evade, confuse, and lose my pursuers in the maze of the city. My group consisted of five females including myself and I taught them to read, write, and how to survive off the land, like hunting the wildlife, or picking the right kind of berries. Two of them knew how to write, and the other two knew the basics of reading, and of course, I knew it all. I made sure to teach them what they needed to know, and how to follow my commands, and for them to execute them precisely. I got them into shape, and had them follow me into town to learn to steal form the vendors and from the supermarkets, but not from the people themselves, because that wasn't what we needed to survive, at least, at the moment.

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Please review, so that I can update or edit this page or something... FYI, this story has taken me about 2 years to write cuz the muse is very slippery and my college courses are really hard to keep up in.


	2. Chapter 2

Six months later, it's the middle of Spring, my group rose up in numbers from five to thirty, and our farmhouse was too small and we needed to something bigger to house us all, so the 27 of them had packed up their stuff and moved East. I stayed behind because there was two unaccounted for and I was waiting for them to return from the hunt. It was a good thing that I decided to move them out today, because the King's Guard had ordered a raid on our old establishment, but found that it was empty. I know this because those two stragglers who were left behind finally showed and I had them climb a tree. I also had them hide their catch in the same tree, unfortunately for me they had caught a deer, and a dead deer is a very heavy pound of flesh, but between the three of us, we got it into the tree and hid it from view. The other two climbed up next and situated themselves in the tree just like the deer, and it was a good thing too, because as soon as they were in the tree did I see the scouts of the King's Guard. The tree we hid in was a very big oak tree that was near the house.

I wasn't fast enough to cover our tracks, but I did my best in the short amount of time before the King's Guard came into view. The moment the King's Guard came into view, I jumped up at the tree's bark from about three feet away, and my crew was in awe at prowess under pressure, but I shushed them with a wave of a hand, and had them watch the Guard in case we needed to bolt without the prey.

The King's Guard consisted of one plattoon, which had one Commander, whom I knew, two Captains, nope - didn't know them, and about thirty soldiers. The Commander issues orders to the Captains who barked out orders to the others, and ordered them to find the rebels or of anything suspicious. I had to reign-in my mischievous side, so as not to cause any trouble for my two comrades who were hiding with me in the tree. I really had to reign it in when two soldiers came near the tree, and not to spook them, but if I was alone - I probably would have done it, and really let loose on my training. I couldn't do it with so many people nearby in case they recognized me or something. I brought my thoughts back to those two soldiers who were talking about random stuff, but one thing did stick to me, ok, maybe two, but I was really interested in what they were saying.

Soldier #1: **"So, why are we here again, searching for these ghost rebels?"**

Soldier #2: **"We're here, because the King, himself, ordered it. Apparently, one of his prospective soldiers had been called in for a review for a position to the King's Guard, but caused havoc on her way out, so the King wants retribution for the death of his two guards."**

Soldier #1: **"Her? A female? A female killed two of the King's Guard. Wow."**

Soldier #2: **"Yes, a female. She was the top of her squad for three years straight and made Captain in her first year there."**

Soldier #1: **"So, why do you think she ran?"**

Soldier #2: **"I don't know, maybe it was because the main objective was too hard, but I don't think that was the case. Either way, we have our orders to capture her and her band of rebels alive."**

Soldier #1: **"... alive, huh? How boring."**

Soldier #2: **"I agree, but I did hear something about the rogue soldier's family, especially about her younger sister who was pregnant."**

Soldier #1: **"Oh, yeah? What?"**

Soldier #2: **"Apparently she went nuts on the soldiers who were bad - talking about her sister, saying that her sister probably had no other choice but to execute her plan in that kind of fashion, or something like that."**

Commander: **"Or something, or maybe these two soldiers would like to share their thoughts with the rest of the group? No? Then get back to work, or I'll be very angry, and you don't want that, now do you?"**

Soldiers #1 &amp; #2: **"Sir, no, sir!"**

The Commander watched them leave and proceeded to follow them when he heard a shuffling sound in the tree behind him, and he whipped around and looked up, but he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. He walked up to the base of the tree, and looked up into the tree, and saw a deer - a dead deer - in the tree with no rope to indicate it being drained of blood, so he came to the conclusion that there was some rebels in the tree, but before he could shout out to the other soldiers - a noose came around his throat, and cut off his shout. The Commander was being risen from the ground to the tree, but he quickly grabbed his knife and cut the rope.

Two of the three rebels that were in the tree - fell out - and took off toward the direction that their leader had told them to go which was East, and their leader, which was me, had dropped down and knocked out the Commander, and proceeded to run West toward the city, so that they don't know to follow the other two smaller targets. They followed the bait as fast as they could in the panic that I ensured by knocking out their Commander first. I made sure they saw my face, and made them run around in circles trying to find me, and I ended up back at the barracks where I knocked them out in their confusions, plus they were tired from the run around that I had them doing. I barely broke a sweat from the run, and man, did I have fun, but I wasn't done yet, because here come the two Captains.

The Commander came to about thirty minutes later, and walked through the barracks to find me just finishing off the Captains. They put up quite the fight, and got a couple of good hits in, they even bruised a couple of my ribs, but they got over-confident toward the end and that is when I got them. I tied them together, and tossed them on the pile of other bodies, and I took a quick breath. I turned around to notice the Commander standing there - dumbstruck - at how easily I took out his subordinates in less than thirty minutes.

I smiled at him and stood in a defensive position, readying myself for the Commander who was getting into position himself. I knew that this battle was going to be hard, and I was on a time - limit, because others could be back at any moment. So, I analyzed him and found that he put most of his weight on his right leg which means that his left leg must be hurting from when he landed after cutting the rope that was around his neck. He glared at me for destroying his men, and for leading them back to the barracks. He felt embarrassed for this humiliation that had befallen him and his men. He attacked first, and I ended him, by stepping swiftly to the side, and kicking him in his left leg which made grunt and buckle from the pain, and I chopped at the back of his neck effectively knocking him out, but before he lost consciousness, I said, **"Weaklings will always remain weak."**

I used the same words that he used on me when I first enlisted and joined his squad, and he was already like this before King Slade ruled the land, now he is just annoying. He did inspire me to work harder without actually saying anything so as not to show favoritism, and work harder is what I did.

My task was to buy time, and I did it flawlessly, and now that it is done, so I needed to leave or else I was going to get caught. As I started to leave the building, I noticed a recorder nearby and decided to send my report in via recording. I made sure to say that this was addressed only for the king and his Men in the beginning, and then I proceeded to report my findings. I told the King, in code, that it appears there are no rebels in this sector, so I was going to lead my crew to the next town, and see if I could locate them there. I, also, said that I apologized for knocking out that plattoon that was sent to the farm, but now I feel that they will take orders seriously from now on.

I ended the tape and posted it on the door to the barracks with a little sign saying, "_Play me for the King"_. I was going to write on there with an or else, but I didn't want to sound cliche, so I just left it there.

I left the compound the same way I entered which was through the front door, because no one guards the front doors. I don't know why no one guards this entry point, but I guess that is just one of those unspoken but everyone knows about them rules. Anyway, I left the compound, but not the city, because I needed to make sure that they sent my report in and I was curious about who they sent over to check on the plattoon for mission details. Turns out it was the King himself who stopped by on one of daily walks around the grounds, which means he's flanked by four of his Guardsmen, and two dogs. Two of the Guardsmen entered first, then called out the all-clear signal, and the King entered next with the two remaining Guardsmen standing guard with the two dogs. I waited twenty minutes and I was about to leave when I saw that the King had rushed outside and started to look around as if he were searching for something or someone. He see's a tree near the gate and nods at what he thinks is my general location, which was a good guess, but I on a buiding over-looking the barracks, but still in the general area. He smiles like he needed reassurance of my loyalty or something. I grinned and took off toward my crew who lied about three leagues east of the city.

It took me about a day and a half, but I found them. They looked like they were arguing amongst themselves, and with each other on whether or not they should go back for me or to keep moving. I stayed hidden for about five minutes, then made myself known. They all looked relieved to see me, alive and unscathed, at least, visibly unscathed. My ribs were very painful especially when I breathe too deeply. I needed to rest, but we were out in the open with no shelter in sight and the next town was still about a two days march from here. I calmed them down, and told them what was the next motion of the plan. We were to continue moving east until we find either shelter or something with a vehicle so that we can move faster. They all had sighed, and started to move out. I sense that tonight was going to be draining but its only until we can find some shelter, but until then I can only hope that the mood doesn't dwindle too far down, or I'm going to have to stop some fights. Sigh. Please end today on a good note and find us some shelters.


	3. Chapter 3

My muse is hating me right now. 3:) Enjoy!

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The walk took us about three days to reach the next city, because we stopped often to rest and to eat from our meager stores. To make sure there was no more danger heading our way, I set up scouters all around us. I sent two scouts, lithe and strong, forward to scout ahead for any dangers, and two more scouts behind us to make sure no one is following scouts would switch out every two miles, or when I felt the need to call them back for a break, which was not often, but that was because we needed to get to the next town. Our walk was un-disturbed by neither creature nor by man alike, and strangely, we didn't care for we were tired and irritated from the long trek to the next town. The distance between the King's Fortress and the next town was only twenty-five miles, but walking with a large group such as mine, was taxing and boring especially when we couldn't find any vehicles to help speed up the process.

I was, especially irritated, because my bruised ribs were really throbbing with pain, and my patience was waning with the group and their constant whining. I was trying to hold in my irritation before I did something that I would regret, but as it was, luck was not on my side. I _did_ have an altercation with one of the Nurses, that I had picked up from the last town after we stocked up on supplies, who had noticed that I was walking slower than the group and I was holding my ribs.

At the next break stop, this female nurse came up to me and asked if I was okay. I said that I was fine, and hoped that should have ended the conversation, but she was determined to find out what was wrong with me.

**"Tell me what is wrong, maybe I could help,**" she asked worriedly.

**"Nothing is wrong. You should go back and rest with your group,"** and I tried to turn away when she grabbed my arm, and I flinched slightly.

**"Don't turn away form me! I'm just trying to help!"** The Nurse was yelling slightly, which caught the attention of everybody else in my merry band of mini-rebels. (sarcasm, I know, not helping).

**"Calm down, you're scaring the children, and I don't need your help."** I said calmly and slightly irritated at how this person thinks that she can order me around.

**"I don't care about the children and..."**

I didn't let her finish that sentence, because I had slapped her in the face with enough force to knock her to the ground, but she stood firmly. She was stunned as I glared at her audacity to speak like that. The other children had closed their eyes and covered their ears, because they don't like to see me angry, and most of the time, I don't get angry. The other people had dropped their jaws, because during that six months time, they have not seen me mad or have any other form of negative expression other than annoyance. I guess when I left the Military, and took on the form of leader of my small band of rebels; I took on a more relaxed view of the days instead of the strict regime that I had before. I don't exactly slack off, but I don't exactly work to my full strength every day just like I used to back at the barracks. So, my attitude is nice most of the time, or when I'm feeling mischievous like I did with the platoon. So, when I do get mad, it doesn't last for a very long time, and I usually forget about the transaction until someone brings it up again.

**"Don't talk like that again in front of me nor in front of the other children again, or this will be the least of your problems, do you understand?"** I growled out to the still stunned Nurse whom I still don't know the name of nor did I even want it.

**"I said, Do You Understand?!"** I barked out louder than I needed to, because the whole group minus the children who were still covering their eyes and ears had jumped and shouted, **"Yes, we understand."** Even the Nurse had replied back, even though the answer was almost like autopilot, but I still got what I needed. When everyone shouted, did the children uncover their eyes and ears and look around to see if it was okay.

**"If you are all so rested, let's move out, and the sooner we get to the next town, the better off we will be."** I smiled as the tension melted and how the energy and eagerness had returned to the group at the mention of the next town.

I moved away from the Nurse, who still had a hold of me, and I ripped my arm away, and walked away to move to the front of the group. The town was just coming into view, and it looked so much like a mirage that I had to blink a lot to make sure that I wasn't being deceived. I wasn't, and it felt awesome.

I was distracted by the relief of seeing the town that I almost missed the sound of running feet, and when I heard the sound coming closer did I whip around to notice a determined looking Nurse head in my direction. I raised my arms, defensively, but the only attack that came was in the form of hug, when the Nurse had slipped through my defenses. (Don't ask how she did it, because even I don't know). Her attack was like a glomp, actually, it really was a glomp, because she jumped when she was under my defense, and crashed me and her to the ground.

I flinched violently, and grunted from the force from which she jumped to hug me. She heard it loud and clear. The group had heard it. Even the scouts heard it when they came back to switch out. **SNAP! SNAP!** Two!? Two of my ribs that were bruised had, now, become broken from the glomp that the Nurse had just done. I growled heavily down at the Nurse who was around my waist, and who just smiled smugly up at me.

I fell back from the force of the hug/glomp and landed, heavily, on the ground behind me with the Nurse still attached to my waist. That Nurse really wanted for things to go her way, and now everyone else knew what I have been hiding for the last few days. Damn that Nurse for her persistence and stubborn pride.

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I know that these chapters are short, but I don't know if I should lengthen them, or just keep them short like they are now. Maybe some reviews could enlighten me on the matter or on the story itself? I know that a lot of people visit and read them, but reviews are needed to help further along the storyline and to help the author.

Just letting you know.


	4. The History of Slade

This is like a shot in the beginning and I know that this should have been a part of the first two chapters, but I had a good feeling about this one, so I inserted it here.

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Now Slade was a patient man, and he knew it was a good time to act. His time to take over the government was near, and the plan was simple - Destroy all of the important people - so that he was the only one left to rule. He destroyed everyone above his stature, including the current president. No one suspected a thing, and when someone did, Slade made sure his alibis were in place should someone came snooping. When he took his place as acting - leader, he placed most of his men that were the most loyal to him, and stationed them in all of the Military branches. Those soldiers were placed into positions of power were they followed the rules set by the Acting - Leader, and made the restrictions of Military Recruitment for females really hard. For those who were already in and are placed in boot camp, they were told of the updates concerning their advancement in the Military. If the recruitment was hard, then living through boot camp would be Hell incarnate.

Out of 400 females per branch, only about 250 survived the cut, and those who passed were given a promotion with a warning about their dropped comrades who didn't make it, a.k.a. The Useless. The warning was just a reminder that if or when you were dropped from the program, you would have two choices concerning what to do next. 1.) Try again in six months time, or 2.) Go home and never try again. Many of the Useless females thought this to be unfair, but Slade wasn't hearing any of this, and told them that if they wanted to complain, then they should raise up in the ranks, and then complain to him then. The females did try to become Useful again, and many of them passed, but also a majority would fall behind, and would choose the second option. Those who chose the second option were tattooed with an UL (Useless), and were dropped off in their hometown to live their days in their household.

Slade, eventually, became the ruler of the United States of America in about two years time, and he was quite proud of the achievements that have happened in that time. The females were suppressed, the males were still-in-charge, and the laws were re-written to help the males and to chain the females to their males. Divorce was abolished unless the males wished for it, and abortion was only cleared if the females were given the okay by the given donor, unless those males were missing, then the females could abort it if they wished.

School was optional for males who wanted to continue being educated, but the females had to choose a field of expertise that were limited to just females such as Medical, Entertainment, Teaching, Cooking, Home Economics, Agriculture, and Animal Care/ Training. The males were not as limited as the females were, and as such were not as angry as their counterparts. A coalition had been formed to overthrow the ruler, but no one wanted to move yet. This movement was controlled by males who showed weakness in caring for the well-being of females everywhere, but didn't have the intelligence to do anything other than complain about unfairness toward the fairer sex. Slade knew about the coalition, because he sent some of his men as recruits to the cause, but he didn't do anything to them as they have not attacked nor provoked him in anyway, shape, or form.

Years went by, and Slade's regime was integrated into the system of every school and Military in the United States, and most of the surrounding countries such as Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, parts of Japan, and parts of Europe. Russia, Asia, Africa, the other parts of Japan, and Australia were putting up a bigger than he originally thought, but eventually they will all follow this command and bow.

To occupy his time between the resisting countries and running his own, he split his duties into positions under his direct command, and placed some Men, who feared the ruler, but held power in their own right, into those chairs. The ages ranged from 25 - 50, but they were all males and no females. These Men took care of the minor duties such as policing, court, education, etc.

Slade was a man of strict regime, and as such made sure to have others follow the same schedule. Of course, for those who couldn't keep up with using the schedule with the daily exercises, they were treated as partial-useless, where as the P.U. could either beecome a Useful again or fall to become a Useless. Many tried their hardest to survive and many adapted quickly enough, but some could not, so they were shipped back home. Although there were special cases, such as if one of the Captain's were "assisting" one of the other cadets who had pleaded to their superiors for help. If that was the case, then they, the Captain's, or those helping, were given a time limit of 30-60 days to assimilate into the Military and it's daily exercises. The Captains' must keep a daily report of who they were helping and how much progress they've accumalated. Slade can see the progress being made, and decide whether to accept the returnee or to reject them. Although most of the rejects could say that he was being harsh and unfair, by both the males and females, but he was not being unjust. He uses a distinct method of elimination, or of acceptance, to those cadets who need "assistance", and the method is really simple. He puts the name of the cadets and their information on cards, and put them in hidden places around the camp. He tells the P.U.'s to go find their cards plus two different ones, and the one's found by the end of the day are accepted, and those left behind are dropped.

A simple game, but Slade, himself, is the one who hides them, and he hides them really, really well. Slade was a mercenary and a spy before he became the Ruler, or Dictator, of the United States. This man loves these games, and he uses this method often, especially when he's bored and in need of entertainment.

There was one instance where two very promising young females had dropped to P.U. status, but quickly played the game and gained everyone of those hidden cards in a matter of minutes, as if this were a child's game. Slade was impressed with these two females that he raised them up in rank, regardless of their female status. Although he did wonder how those two had dropped in the first place, and he questioned them on the matter, for which they both said, **"We just wanted to play the game, but our Captain said only those who have fallen to P.U. could play the game, so we made a deal with the Captain. Our deal was that if we won the game as the fastest, then he would treat the females in our camp a little nicer, so we accepted. Plus the game was fun and in this camp fun was limited, so we do challenges to make the work more fun." **Slade was awe-struck at these two females who aced his game, but also because they weren't scared of him like most of the others. These two females were thrill seekers and they live for the challenge, and Slade liked that about them, but he wasn't going to play favouritism, he was just going to keep an eye on them. So, after he congratulated them on passing the game, and sent them back to their barracks as Privates instead of Cadets. He sent them with a letter of acceptance back to Useful status, and a letter of recognition to the next level which means a rank up. Those two females saluted, then left for the barracks; as they were just starting out they didn't know the full decorum for being dismissed by the King, but he let them go anyways. (You're supposed to salute, bow, and say **"Sir!"**)

The King's Military can be started as early as twelve years old to as late as thirty-five years old. Although most of the time, people who are ages 21-35 are already joining the military as a true soldier, so going to school wouldn't matter as much, but some believed that going to school was still just a better option. There were different buildings, holding different age groups for both genders, with the exception that females are graded harsher than males. The King's Military wasn't like a school, but more of a camp with barracks included, so that the prospects would have the same feeling of being in the King's Guard, which is the dream of every Cadet and Soldier.


	5. Chapter 4

My muse returns after leaving stranded for ages, and after I've used her she will leave again.

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The Nurse said, **"Now, was that so hard?"**

I wanted to growl when the Nurse said this, but I couldn't because the whole group had, at first, gasped, then rushed over to see if there was anything that they could do. I wanted to sigh, but sighing required breathing and breathing was hard to do at the moment.

**"Well, now that you've exposed my secret, I guess that I'll have to pass out now,"** I stated warily as the shock and wariness had worn off, and I laid down and fell asleep.

When I came to, I wasn't outside anymore, and there were people who I didn't know surrounding me. I tried to get up, but someone put a hand on my shoulders and pushed me back down. I wanted to attack, but I couldn't for I was strapped to a metal hospital gurney in padded cuffs. I was pushed back down and a light was shown into my eyes, first from the left then to the right. I was panicking, but I couldn't stop until someone that I knew came into the picture. The Nurse from my group showed up and told me to calm down or that they were going to drug me. At the thought of drugs, I stilled my movements, and I took a deep breathe, in and out, and I calmed down.

**"Hey, Leader, how are ya feeling?"** Asked the Nurse, who stood by the gurney and watched both me and the other individual, who went back to checking my vitals.

I glared at her and said, **"I'm fine, but what happened? Where are we? Where is everyone else?"**

She ignore my glare and said that the group was fine and that they were just outside of the room. I nodded at the information, but before she could continue, someone came in and ushered the Nurse out. The other individual had finished his task of checking my vitals, and checking my wrapped chest to make sure the bindings were secure, then he left the room after telling me to rest, sleep if possible, and that someone would be coming to release you. I nodded and he left, but before he closed the door, I saw how my people were being treated, at least, a portion of my group, and it appears that the group was afraid but they were handling their fear rather well. I clenched my fist in anger at the their treatment, but I reigned in my temper and calmed down. I fell asleep after waiting what felt like hours, but in reality was about 45 minutes.

I awoke to someone talking to someone else near my gurney, but I couldn't see because someone had drawn the curtains around the gurney closed. I started to fall back to sleep until I heard my name being talked about, and I listened in.

Someone #1: **"... I hear this patient's name is Chris, is that correct?"**

Someone #2: **"That is right".**

Someone #1:** "Do you know if this patient is a male or a female? I need to know what this patient's profession is as well, so that I can plan accordingly."**

Someone #2:** "Does it really matter what the gender is, Doctor? Couldn't you just treat the patient as a patient and be done with it?"**

Doctor/ Someone #1: **"If you want my co-operation, then 'yes' the gender is needed. That is our motto: A patient's a patient, no more no less, so treat them accordingly, and without distress. I can understand the importance of keeping the gender a secret, but I can't treat accordingly if I don't know."**

Someone #2: **" (sigh) I understand. Your patient is a female soldier who is on a mission from the King."**

Doctor: **"I see. The King, eh? Understood."**

Someone #2: **" Well, now you know, but this must stay between us. No one is to know about my involvement unless absolutely necessary."**

Doctor: **"I understand. This stays between us. For document sake, we'll say a female soldier, but do you want me to say high-ranking or not?"**

Someone #2: **"Let's ask the patient as she has been listening to us for a while now."**

The curtain was drawn open, and I could see my two visitors. One was the doctor who looked surprised at my spying, and the other was none - other - than the Commander of the platoon which I had beaten recently. I glared at them both. **"So nice of you to include me in this conversation, but next time if you don't want me to overhear you, then I suggest you don't speak in the same room as the object of discussion, got it?"**

**"You're very cheeky, considering you're strapped to the gurney, and at my complete mercy," **said the Commander who glared down at me, but I could see some mild amusement in his eyes.

I growled, then winced when the sound hurt my ribs. **"Mercy is something I don't even know, but give me time and I'll give you a sweet release any time".**

The Commander snorted at her cheekiness, but smiled at her nonetheless. **"Good! You remembered."**

**"Of course! You drilled it into us until we could say it backwards and in our sleep as soon as we heard the word, 'Mercy'."** I smile at the memory.

**"Ahem", **said the Doctor who stood on the side, **"Well, then, let's continue, because I have other patient's that I need to check in on. So, Miss Chris, what rank do you want to be at?"**

**"Don't call me that",** I mumbled.

**" Excuse me, what did you say?"** The Doctor inquired softly.

**"I said to not call me that,"** I repeated out loud.

**"Call you what?"** said the Doctor.

**"Miss. Don't call me miss. Don't associate me to being a female in that sense,"** I said while glaring at the Doctor.

**"Why? Wait, no, nevermind, I don't wanna know,"** questioned the Doctor who immediately shook his head at his own inquiries.

The Commander understood the feeling of not wanting to be associated to those weak, frail, females considering how training in the King's Army made everyone equal. If a female was strong enough to get in and stay in, then they were treated like any other soldier - with respect. Anything else is disrespecting even when addressing someone in their old title, which is banned in the Army, and is punished severly.

**"Okay, so back to the matter at hand, deciding rank importance. Since, technically, I am ranked as high, if not higher, than the Commander here. The ranking in a hospital is, generally, the same way - the higher the better - but I am supposed to stay low-key. So, I'll take a middle rank, let's say...hm... Staff Sergeant, 2nd Class."** I pondered and looked up at the Commander and the Doctor who scribbled it down.

**"I'll put this into the paperwork as soon as possible, Staff Sergeant, 2nd Class. As for your injury, your ribs were cracked and we set them and bandaged your chest to hold them in place. They should be healed withing 6-8 weeks. You should drink plenty of water, try not to move too much, get plenty of rest, and try to relax,"** stated the Doctor who spoke the rules and left the room.

The Commander was still here and I wondered why he still was. After the Doctor had left, the Commander grabbed a chair, dragged it over, sat down, crossed his arms, and stared at me. His stare was making me squirm slightly, and after a while I glared at him,** "What"?**

The Commander smirked as she squirmed under his gaze. **"Congratulations"! **

**"Whatever for?"** I narrowed my eyes at him. He was being so uncharacteristically weird.

**"For beating me and my platoon so effortlessly, even the King was impressed when we came to,"** said the Commander who was grinning at her confused expression.

**"Never been congratulated for beating up my opponents before,"** I mumbled, blushing slightly.

**"Change of topic. The King sent me to send you a message concerning your mission, do you want to hear it?"** The Commander inquired.

**"Firstly, I want to know what is happening to my group of females that I was traveling with, and secondly, I want out of this hospital, then and only then will I listen to your request, capiche?"** I growled out evenly.

**"The Doctor stated that you needed to rest,"** said the Commander. Far be it for him to go against the Doctor's orders.

**"I don't need to be here to rest, and really, considering all the time I, already, spent in a hospital, I am healing quite fast as it is,"** I growled out evenly.

This caught the Commander's attention, **"What do you mean?"**

I stared at him and asked, **"Don't you know about the experiments? Considering your rank, you should know all about them, or not."** The Commander was staring at her with a confused expression on his face.

The Commander gulped, **"What experiments?"**


	6. Chapter 5

-The Commander gulped, "What experiments?"-

* * *

I blinked up at him. (_He's joking, right?_) I felt my jaw open slightly at that revelation, and I felt myself freeze in fear that I was sure wasn't there anymore. (_Crap!_)

The Commander saw my slightly shocked face and thought that I looked cute. As soon as he thought that, he mentally shook his head. (_That's crazy! I don't think this female is cute_). The Commander thought vehemently. The Commander was so lost in his thoughts that he missed the looks that the female was sending him, but he caught the sigh that fell from her mouth.

I was looking at the Commander in disbelief, after my shock had worn off, and I had discovered that the Commander was lost in thought. You couldn't see it in his face, but if you've known him for as long as I have, then you'd know to look into his eyes. '_The eyes are windows to the soul_' after all. The Commander's eyes were swirling in shock, disbelief, anger, and a slight softness that I have not known the Commander to show. I couldn't get my thoughts around the confusion that had settled in me, so I did the next best thing – I sighed. I sighed to relieve myself of the confusion that I was feeling, and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, and focus more on the task at hand.

**"****What's got you sighing like a love – struck girl, soldier?"** The Commander's voice wafted over my senses like ice water, and I snapped back as if he had.

**"****Nothing that you should concern yourself . . . . Sir,"** I hastily replied back. I bit back the snarky retort and I knew that the Commander was just itching to assault me back, verbally at least.

**"****Nothing? Are you sure?"**

**"****Yes, I'm sure . . . . Sir."**

**"****Then you can finish answering my question from before. 'What experiments' ", **The Commander was adamant on the subject. I couldn't deny him, but I knew that I had to.

**"****My apologies, sir, but I cannot say anything more at this time. I have already said too much as is, and I do not want to jeopardize my mission all because you are curious."** I sighed when I saw that he was about to argue his defense, but I cut him off from saying something more. **"No, sir, I'm not being disrespectful to you, but these are the King's orders. I know that I've made you curious, but it really is not my place to tell you if you don't already know".**

The Commander huffed in annoyance that the soldier had denied him in answering his questions, even if on the King's order's.

I could feel the anger and annoyance that radiated off him in waves, the anger at being denied in his eyes, and the scowl on his face made me want to drop down and beg for his forgiveness. (_He made us do this in training because he said that it shows that you were truly in repent, or something like that_). I know that no one, besides the King and his guards, could deny him an answer. I, a-now-demoted-soldier, have done just that, and I suddenly wanted to take it back because I've seen when the Commander gets angry and I've known what he does to punish his subordinates who had made him very angry, and let me tell you, of the ones that had never got away with more than a few broken bones, but what really did you in was the mental assault that, almost, made you insane by the end of it. It was that bad. Made the Joker from Batman appear tame and sane.

**"****Is that so?"** The Commander said in an extremely slow and torturous way.

**"****Yes, Sir."** No hesitation. Hesitation meant pain. I was already in pain, and I didn't need anymore.

The Commander was enjoying the torturous feeling that radiated off the soldier in question, and he relished in her rebelling nature that he knew was still there. A strong nature like that is always a nice change of pace, and since she demoted herself (even if it's in name only), she has returned to her old regiment, which means that she is back in my tender care and services.

**"****Are you going to talk to the Hospital, and get them to release me?"**

**"****No."**

**"****Why not?"**

**"****Because I thought it would be more fun to leave you here to be tortured by the Hospital Staff who, by the way, hate female soldiers the most, and do their up most best to make sure your stay here is as unbearable as possible."** The Commander was trying to make her break. The look on her face was of fear and disbelief at what he had said, and a few seconds later her face showed strength in her resolve to NOT break. It's a good thing that he's on leave at the moment.

**"****Fine, but it's not going to take me long to heal from a minor injury like this . . . . Sir,"** I glared at him while still strapped to the gurney.

**"****And why is that?"** The Commander questioned again.

**"****Still can't tell you, sir, so stop asking, and even if I could, I wouldn't, because you are being very inconsiderate to me at the moment."**

**"****Inconsiderate? How so?"** The Commander cocks his head to the side as he questions the female.

**"****By disbelieving the King's order, and by persisting this by making me the guilty one, so that I would answer your questions to relieve myself of said 'guilt' ". **I said with as much conviction as possible, even though I almost died with the glare that he was shooting me. Before he could reply, a pair of nurses, one male and one female, entered the room. They both had the look of surprise on their faces, but went about checking me out – vital wise. I watched them closely as they rounded the room, giving the Commander a wide berth, and came up to me. They both stopped at the foot of my gurney, and stared before they bowed to me. I widened my eyes at them, then looked at the Commander who, also, had his eyes widened at the display that these two nurses were showing. I turned back to them as they came over to the left side of the gurney (the Commander was on the right) and began checking my vitals.

The male nurse was checking my stats on the computer screen, writing them down on the clipboard that he was carrying, and brought out a light and shown it in my eyes. All normal reactions, until he switched the color of the light, and I quickly squeezed my eyes shut and I tried to keep them shut. I wiggled my head out of his grip many times, so the male nurse asked for help from the female nurse who tried to hold me down, but I continued to wiggle. They finally let me go, and I sighed in relief before I tensed again as they asked the Commander for his assistance in holding me down. I couldn't see or hear his response, but I felt his hands on my neck and the top of my head. I continued to wiggle my body, but with my head held in one place I was beginning to tire out, so I stopped, and focused my remaining strength to my eyes. I heard the Commander chuckle when he saw my body relax, and the tightening of my fists. I heard a body come closer and I tried to jerk my head away, but I couldn't, even when I felt an extra pair of hands peel my eye lids back and force me to see the light. I saw the male with the flashlight of a different color. I looked away to the right, up, down, back to the left, but he anticipated my next movement and missed and he got frustrated.

The Commander took pity on the male nurse, and when she shifted her eyes back towards him, he said, **"So, like what you see?"** When her eyes shifted towards him, her gaze automatically puts her eyesight on his abdominal, but to anyone else with a perverted mind it wasn't the abs that she was looking at. He chuckled when she turned bright red and looked away right into the light. She went rigid as soon as her eyes met the light, and the female nurse let go, and at a nod to the Commander, he let go too, but he was staring at the female soldier on the gurney. The light made certain features appear that had remained hidden to the naked eye; like the red color made her eyes stay the same color of brown but a pair of black bull horns appear on her head, the green color made her eyes go all black and the top half of her face had green-ish scales on it, the yellow color made her brown eyes become an amber color and made her face morph into a dog-like snout with brown-ish wolf-like ears appear on her head, and when you mixed the colors you got the aspects of the other different animals such as a leopard, tiger, jackal, coyote, snakes, wolves, birds, etc….

It was fascinating to watch the different forms appear and even more fascinating to watch her continue to fight the light. Her fingers were twitching and he saw her body start to shake and shudder when a different color was shown. The Commander couldn't describe the color that he could compare it to, kind of looked like a pale green, but it wasn't because pale green in human terms made her become lizard-like. The shaking stopped, and the shuddering was subsided, but the changes were evident. Her body lengthened a few inches, her body mass expanded in muscle and dropped in what fat was shown, her hair lengthened in a few more inches enough to actually be considered tomboy, her finger and toe nails grew longer and pointier, but the only feature that truly changed were her ears which became more wolf – like and the wolf – like tail to match coming out of her back end (base of the tail bone of the spine). The light switched back to the regular setting, and the features stayed, and they switched it off and recorded the results. She appeared dazed, but when they snapped their fingers near her wolf ears, which twitched in response, she snapped back to reality. She blinked a couple of times, and tried to stretch, but she couldn't and her ears flipped backwards in annoyance, then she focused on one hand and yanked. The padded cuff snapped like it was made of cloth, and when she inspected the cuff she went back to pulling at the other ones. The Commander was pulled aside by the nurses when they switched the light off and made her come back to reality, and now the Commander watched as she ripped the cuffs off and stand up. It looked like she was on autopilot, she didn't acknowledge anyone's presence as she went through the motions of a new body change. The nurses recorded the change and what she was doing, but they didn't question her at all, and he was just itching to when the female soldier turned around and gazed at the two nurses who were ignoring her, and he watched as she growled a beast's growl. The growl was heard by the nurses who looked up, then dropped to the floor in a kneeling position (knight style). The soldier swished her tail, and turned her gaze to the Commander, but he just stood there and glare at her.

The Commander and the beast heard a whispered voice of one of the nurses say, **"Dominance Fight",** and the beast raised her tail up in an arc, her ears flat back across her head, and growled a challenge at the man who did not kneel in respect. The Commander glared as he accepted the challenge of dominance, and he moved into position to fight the female.

**"****No! Stop!"** Came a voice outside the door.

Both challengers snapped their heads to the door when they heard that voice.

**"****Leader, help us! They're moving us to the containment ward."** I know that voice. I've heard it before. Nurse! The Nurse was calling for help. 'Containment ward'? I gasped. That ward is only used for brainwashing females back into service of the male hierarchy, and that would ruin all of her hard work of 'saving' these females and training them. She made her choice.

**"****Where is the containment ward?"** I growled out to the now – standing nurses. The nurses made her a map and she grabbed her clothes and rushed out the door toward the containment ward.

When the soldier rushed out, without finishing the challenge, it made the Commander the automatic winner, but he didn't know that, and neither did the nurses know. The only one who knew is the soldier, but she was too busy to tell him that before she rushed away.

The Commander was clearly confused at the predicament of this situation. The nurses packed up their bags and prepared to leave when the Commander halted them.

**"****Wait. Tell me, what just happened?"**

**"****We can't tell you, sir, for we do not know. We were just told to do that with the light and to record the results,"** the male nurse replied. They left when the Commander released them.

The Commander was confused, and he didn't like to be confused. He wanted to know, so he followed after the soldier in hopes that now she would explain the situation, and besides that, he still needed to give the soldier the message from the King. (_Oh, Joy_).


	7. Chapter 6

Hey! Listen!

* * *

She raced out of the hospital room as fast as she could, not realizing that she was barefoot, and that her feet felt weird as she came upon her first cross-section in the hospital's hallway. She paused, briefly, to confirm the location on the make-shift map, and to look down at the changes that had happened to her. She double-checked the map, making sure to go left, then checked herself out. The pads on her feet were rough and course and she felt that as she rubbed her hand over the soles of her feet. Her toe nails and finger nails were clawed and shaped sharp, and she noticed that they were very hard, in terms of nails that is. She checked her hair and found a pair of pointed ears on top of her head that twitched as she reached for them. They felt soft and silky, which is weird, considering her hair was nasty from mistreatment and of not showering lately. (_Being on the road will do that to ya_). She knew that she needed to check the rest of herself, but she needed to go rescue her group members - her pack. (_Pack? Where did that thought come from?_) Her tail swished happily as she thought of the that term, pack, and she thought that it looked cute, until she realized that has a TAIL. She looked down, and picked up her hairy appendage, which twitched upon contact with her hands, and just like with her ears, her tail was soft, silky, and slightly ruffled from her run from the hospital room. She cocked her head to the side as confusion had started in, but quickly lowered her tail and shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needs to focus and save her group, so she shook her head once more, turned toward the left corridor, and took off toward her destination - The Containment Ward.

As she raced down the left corridor with deep concentration, she didn't realize that she was being followed, and she didn't care for she already knew her mission, and nothing was going to deter her from completing it.

The map was crudely drawn, and hard to understand, which made me confused when I followed it. Good thing that I can hear my group members, considering how loud they are, they made it so that when I did get lost, I could back track until I found the right corridor, and continue toward the right destination.

I caught up to the group when I rounded the last corner and raced forward as fast as I could, but as I came closer, a new group appeared and swiftly pushed me back and away from my group, who didn't even notice me until the other members moved. This new group consisted of about twenty black-claded individuals who blocked my path from my group, who were being herded into the next room. As the last member of my group was being ushered into the room, she looked back and noticed me and shouted, **"****Leader! Help!"** The last member was cuffed in the head to keep moving and I glared and growled at the guy who hit my member, which he jumped and stepped back in fear. I smirked, but turned my gaze back to the twenty black-claded individuals who currently block my path, and I positioned my body into an attack position. I raised my arms, positioned my hands into a pair of loose fists, positioned my feet to allow for swift movement, tucked my tail around my waist, and made sure that my pointed ears remained straight up so that I could hear of any sneak attacks. The black-claded individuals readied themselves before launching themselves at me, and I growled and rushed them.

I laughed at their audacity in believing that numbers were everything, especially when in a tight - fitted hallway. I was a blur of black and blue (Shirt: Blue, Pants: Black), and they couldn't touch me, but I could touch them and touch them I did, and they did not get back up. I felt invincible, and I knew that I wasn't, but I loved the adrenaline high. I was doing good until someone blew a whistle when there was about ten soldiers left, and I clamped my hands over my pointed - backwards - and - pressed - into - my - head ears. I looked around to see if anyone else had stopped and when they did not I ruled out school yard whistles. So, what had the tone to make a sound that no one else could hear? (_Of course! A dog whistle!_)

When my hands clamped down on my ears to escape the sound of pain that was permeating my head, I bit down a whimper that had threatened to escape. The soldieers had paused when they saw that I had stopped and covered my ears, and now that half of my strength was gone, they continued their attack with renewed vigor.

The soldiers attacked all spots that I couldn't defend, but still I didn't go down, and I still brought down five more, leaving only five left. The soldiers were getting tired, but not the female in front of them. Oh, sure, she was breathing heavily, but her eyes and body were hard. Tense. I was ready to bring down the remaining soldiers, but before I could attack, I heard something. The whistle sound had stopped, the soldiers had stopped, and we all heard the sound of someone clapping from down the hall.

**CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!**

Slow, rhythmic, clapping was heard, and as one, we turned toward the sound. We gasped, well, they gasped, I just looked unsure. The clapping person was none - other - than the King himself, who was flanked by his Guards. Those Guardsmen were grim-looking individuals who seemed to be very irritated, and from my position from about ten feet away could actually see that they were indeed very irritated. The irritation was due to the appearance of greenies, young men who appeared to be just out of training camp, and these young men were constantly swivelling their heads around, which was making the veterans irritated. From my vantage point, I could see 5 veterans and 5 newbies, spread out in two parallel lines, with the King right out in front. The King was dressed in formal combat garb of hard, fabricated, kevlar plates that covered him from the neck to the legs. The color scheme of the combat garb was a mixture of forest camo's in one, his boots were black, combat's, with dark green laces, and his shield was visible on his left chest pocket. The shield consisted of a red lion eating the world while holding a shield and sword. From where I was standing, I couldn't see if the shield was on his back or not, but if this is the real King, then it should be there. He wasn't carrying his helmet, so I assumed that he either left it, or had one of the newbies hold it. (_Such an honor it is!_). The Guardsmen wore the same uniform except the boots were sandy brown with black laces, and their helmet's were colored with different stripes. (_Different stripes and colors to depict rank among the King's Guard_).

**"Well, well, well, if it isn't the traitorous female ex-soldier, what are you doing here"?** The King sneered.

The Veteran Guardsmen had all sneered at me when the King did, and the other soldiers, the ones left standing, had all gasped, again, as they turned to face me in shock at who they were fighting.

I smirked as my tail un-furled from around my waist, and my ears went back to pointing straight on top of my head. The King narrowed his eyes at my new appendages, but he didn't say anything. I relaxed my stance, glanced briefly at the King, then I turned around, ignoring his question all-together, and moved to the containment ward. I had my hand on the handle to the door when I heard someone cock a side-arm at me; I turned slowly around to see all of the King's Guard, spread out, and aiming their weapons at me. My ears laid flat against my head as I glared at them and their King, who was standing in the middle of the group with his arms crossed in front of him.

**"Going somewhere? I didn't give you permission to leave, now did I, Ex-soldier?"** The King was smiling. Nothing good comes from a smiling King, especially when he's surrounded by men with guns.

**"Yes. I'm going to rescue my females - in - arms from the Containment Ward, so that I can be on my way to liberating wayward females".** I glared at the King until I saw something in my peripheral's. I flicked my eyes to the right and saw some people down the hall, trying to hide, and failing. These people looked like those rebel scout's that I've been hearing about, and have been trying to find to complete my mission. I can tell that they're rebel scouts, because they're wearing the same garb as the Guardsmen, except that they're caps are forest green with a gold 'S' on it. I flicked my eyes forward, and saw some more scouts from behind the King and his guards. I think I heard more behind me, but I wasn't sure. I tried not tot alert the King nor his guardsmen of the scouts, as I wasn't sure if they were friend or foe.

The King just **'hmm-ed'** me before waving his hand, and the Guardsmen lowered their weapons, but they didn't put them away.

**"Is that all? Just liberate some girls from the ward?" **The King questioned as he cocked his head to the side.

I nodded and lowered my hands back down to my side. I put one hand on the handle to the ward, and started to twist the handle when said handle had twisted and opened on its own. I jumped back as my group came out, and I stared at them with wide-eyed confusion written all over my face. I turned my head to look at the King, who was laughing at the confusion that I was trying to control. I kept stepping back until my back found a wall, and I stayed there as my group came further out of the ward with glassy-eyed looks and blank faces. (_That can't be right. The process takes a couple of days, not minutes. What the Hell is going on?_).

**"That's right! You didn't know that the scientist's had just finished the process of making the females more subservient, about three days after your 'departure'. Now, we are able to make the rebel females come to heel without chaining them up or imprisoning them," **the King bragged and boasted as I stood there processing the information. (_The King sounds off_). I shook my head, and closed my mouth, but the thought was stuck.

I turned and narrowed my eyes at the King, **"Are you sure you are the REAL King?"**

The "King" stopped laughing and sputtered, outrageously, **"W-what? Of course I'm the Real King! How dare you say otherwise, you traitorous swine"!**

Yep. That sentence just sealed his fate, because the King that I know would NEVER say the word, "swine", unless he was talking about a virus, or the type of meat that was being served for dinner, or something NOT related to this situation. I smirked before schooling my features, but by this imposter's narrowed glare, he caught my smirk.

**"No, you are not. The King that I know, and used to serve, would never stutter nor would he say the word, 'swine', unless he was talking about a virus. Now, stop playing games, and answer the question. Who Are You?"**

The fake King's mouth had fallen open when I started, but after I had finished did he notice and promptly closed it with a click. The Guardsmen all started to smile, some even started to snicker, and others went further and bursted out laughing; the other five (surviving) soldiers had fainted from shock overload at seeing the 'King' close his mouth, but from also seeing the other Guardsmen laughing instead of attacking.

**"Fine. Ya caught me. Happy now,"** the imposter said.

**"Ecstatic,"** I replied with very little emotion, and I was very tempted to roll my eyes, but I held tight. Now that the fighting had stalled enough, my body could hardly hold me up, so I leaned back against the wall that I backed up into from before. As I leaned back, some of the glassy-eyed females came over, slid up beside me, and supported me so that I could lean on them instead of the wall. When they came closer, the glassy-eyed look almost looked like unshed tears, and I gaped in confusion, but I couldn't ask anything, so I turned my face toward the still laughing guardsmen and the fake King.

**"Who are you? What do you want?"**

The Imposter and his crew had finally simmered down, and said,** "Not here. Come with us."** After that was said, they started to walk away, but not too fast so that meant that they weren't in any hurry. (_Suspicious activity, but if they're impersonating the King, then it seems legit to follow and get away without anymore suspicioun_). My group started to follow, but I stopped them and did a head-count just to make sure that everyone was here when I hit a snag. The numbers don't add up. It appears that I'm missing about fifteen others, and the others are the children of my group. I glared and growled out loud, and everyone stopped and stared at me. My tail was curved, in intimidation mode, and my ears were laying flat against my head, in anger, and I pushed away from my crutches to assume the attack position rom before. Everyone was starring at me, in apprehension, and started to back away slowly.

**"Where are they? Where are the children?"**


	8. Chapter 7

(A/N) This changes perspective often. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter 7

"**What children?"** Stated the pseudo-king as he looked around at his crew, quietly asking if they knew.

One of the members in the back had an 'ah-hah' moment, and he moved forward to state his answer to the angered individual who growled out the question. **"Ah … um … I know w-what h-happened to them". **The female zero-ed in on the man who had come forward, **"What. Happened. To. My. Groups. Younger's?" **She was really, really, mad and it looked like she was trying to control her temper as he could see her clenching and unclenching her hand, and her tail was stiffly and slowly swaying back and forth. The man gulped as he felt her anger rolling off her in waves as he began explaining his report.

"**T-The children were moved to a different facility. I don't know which one, because I was detained with this role, but I did see the name that was printed on the side of the vehicle: ****C-C/H****".** He stuttered in the beginning, but grew confident as he continued along with his report.

(Head Female's P.O.V.)

'C-C/H'? Whispered one of the female's from my group; I stilled in frozen shock, and stiffly asked, **"I know this place. There are 3 facilities here in this city, correct?"**

"**Correct. The closest is about 10 miles North of our current position, but that is NOT our concern right now. Our concern is to get you and your (at scene) females to safety. THAT is our mission,"** said the pseudo-king as he moved forward toward the frozen female. The other females of the group moved back and away from their leader, not in fear, but in wary, for they knew what was going to happen.

(Outside P.O.V.)

The pseudo-king's crew saw that the Leader female's group were backing away from their leader, and one of the Lt's started to warn their leader to do this nicely, but before he could – she moved.

Her ears were laid back against her head, her tail laid limp, and her claws were showing. These were your only warnings as she narrowed in on the pseudo-king and her (right) clawed hand across his face when he moved closer and within her range. She broke the skin as five slashes were raked across his face, and he cried out in shock and pain as he went sprawling on the floor; Blood dripping down his face as he lifted himself off the floor, and turned his head, slowly, to face his attacker. He smiled as blood dripped down his face, or smiled as best he could, and he waved his hand to signal to his crew to stay their positions.

"**I see that the rumors were true, you do have a mean temper, especially when someone mentions discarding the children in any way, shape, or form,"** stated the still bleeding and smiling pseudo-king. He made to move closer, again, after getting his face clawed up, but a voice from the back stopped him.

"**I wouldn't do that if I were you. She's already pissed off, and I see no reason to aggravate her any further by moving closer, UNLESS you like getting beat up by the female, then by all means, continue moving toward her,"** stated the mystery person who stood behind the pseudo-king's hospital force. The pseudo-king stopped, and slowly turned around until he faced the mystery person.

"**Good thing you're not me now are you?"**

"**That would be a yes".**

"**Who are you, and what happened to my scouts?"** growled the pseudo-king. The force that the pseudo-king brought already had their weapons out and had them pointed at the man who vanished from sight! The force searched, and looked around the area until they found the man who was watching them from next to the Female Leader. He was smirking at them, and so were most of the females, including the (now relaxed) Leader. Her tail was swishing back and forth, freely, and her ears were pointing up and forward, and she was cleaning her nails from the blood that still clung to them. The pseudo-king moved toward them again, but with raised hands, but was stopped when a resounding growl (from the Leader) and gun (from the male) came back at his until he moved back to his main force, who had a medic with them, who started to clean up the bleeding as best as he could without wrapping up his face.

(Leader's P.O.V.)

"**What are you doing here, Commander?"** I asked lowly so that the pseudo-king and company couldn't hear.

"**Following you; plus I still need to give you the message that the King commissioned me to give to you,"** stated the Commander after he put his weapon away. Before I could question him further, one of the females spoke up from behind them.

"**H-Hey Leader, who-o is this male and h-how do you know him?"** the female stuttered slightly.

I looked behind me to find that all of the females, who had backed away, had come forward to inspect this male who seems to like their leader, and I told them that now is not the time nor place to speak of such things, but that I would tell them when their group was whole again. The group looked skeptical, but I just nodded, and they all nodded in understanding, because they knew that when I said that I would tell them later, and then I would. (_Ah! They know me so well_).

"**Seems like you picked up a decent batch of females, **_**Staff Sergeant**_**, but if you want to continue this conversation at a different time, then I need to tag-along, besides you may need my expertise, especially if you're going to raid the ****C-C/H**** facility,"** stated the Commander. He didn't sound very amused about this whole thing, but neither did I.

"**What makes you think you can keep up with me, **_**Commander**_**? You only know the military version of me, you don't know about my other sides, now do you, **_**Commander**_**?"**

"**What sides do you mean? The sneaky, silent, ninja side, or the manipulative, deadly, assassin?"** asked the Commander as he smirked down at the female that he trained since she joined his unit.

My jaw dropped before I could stop it, and his smirk grew bigger when he saw it.

"**What are you talking about? I don't have an assassin side. Ninja, yes. Assassin, no."** I reprimanded him after he brought my jaw up from the floor.

"**Oh?"**

"**Yes."**

"**Hmm, maybe I'm wrong, but then what about all the times that I caught you doing something sneaky, like going and visiting your sister during curfew, or when you killed your opponent who was giving you and the other females grief?"** stated the evil smirking Commander.

"**I don't know what you're talking about, or better yet, where's your proof?"** I said numbly, almost like I didn't believe him, even though I knew that I did those things. What I don't believe is that he was the one who was watching me, or that he might have proof.

He moved closer to me, brought his head closer to my ear, and whispered, **"I have them all in the database, and if you want to know everything about that, you'd have to come with me."** He moved back, smirking all the same, and said,** "But since you have a mission to save your rebel's children, we would talk about this later – at your leisure, of course."** I glared at him the whole time, but before I could assault him, I heard a strange sound.

**PING! PING! PING! **

(Outside P.O.V.)

Everyone heard the sound, and started looking around for the sound. It sounded like a deep-sea depth sonar, but that can't be right. We were in a hospital, for one, and two, if we were hearing this that means something really, really, REALLY bad is coming.

"**We need to leave, NOW!"** shouted both the Female Leader and the Commander, which made everyone jump into action.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

PING! PING! PING!

* * *

"**We really need to leave, because that sound is not a good sound, trust me. Do tell me you have an escape plan, pseudo-king?" **I started to shake as the adrenaline started to surge through me, but a hand on my shoulder restrained me from doing anything excessive.

"**Calm down, soldier. The way you're acting makes me think you were never a part of the military if your fear controls your actions,"** whispers the Commander. The hand on my shoulder was warm, and I collected my thoughts so that I could formulate a plan that could ensure all of my female's safety.

"**I am calm. It's not fear that I'm feeling but adrenaline, as in I'm hyper to move and destroy, but you are correct in thinking of a plan first,"** I took a deep breath in, and released it, and then started formulating a plan.

"**I never, actually, said anything about a plan,"** mumbled the Commander.

"**You implied it, sir."** I smiled. **"Now assist me in making sure we get out of this alive. FYI, my females are trained to follow orders – MY orders."** I said as I glared at him to make sure he understood the statement.

"**Good! That's good that you trained them to follow only your commands, because following multiple orders from many different voices will confuse the followers. So, what's the plan?"** he praised her, for her excellent job on informing him of the trained females, but now they needed a plan to escape the headache coming their way.

I needed a plan, and the only thought going through my head was to run, but we didn't know the way, so I looked toward the pseudo-king to ask him if he knew the fastest way out, but he wasn't there. I looked around, but I didn't see them.

"**They left as soon as they heard the pinging,"** stated the Commander.

"**Damn! Do you know the way out?"** I growled, then sighed as I asked for help.

"**Well, I did wander these halls looking for you, especially when you ran out of the room like you were on fire or something. I MAY have seen an exit, but it may be blocked by whatever that sound is coming from,"** smirked the Commander.

"**I DID NOT!" **exclaimed the Female Leader.

"**You did. Now, how is that plan coming along, **_**Staff Sergeant**_**?"** questioned the Commander as his smirk grew at my exclamation, and I glared at his smirk.

The Leader looked over all of the facts before making a hasty decision that could make, or break the entire group. She looked at the still – fallen men who she found, she looked at the small group of females who would follow every order she gave without hesitation, she looked at the Commander who followed her from the Base, she looked at their current position in the hospital, she looked at possible escape routes, and she listened for the pinging noise that sounded closer than before. She looked at herself, just to see the battle damage, and noted that with the adrenaline still rushing through her body, she felt none of the pain that was sure to come after the adrenaline wears off. She has the makings of plan, but still a plan nonetheless.

"**Alright, listen up! I have an idea, and I would like to know what you think before we rush with it,"** stated the Female Leader who wanted an honest opinion on her near-half-baked plan. **"The plan is that whatever is out there is coming toward this position, and coming mildly fast, so I propose that we impersonate these fallen men, and stash the bodies in the mind-wipe room."**

The Commander and the group of females looked at the Female Leader with an odd expression before looking the fallen soldiers. The Leader was getting antsy at their continued silence, but also from the pinging that seemed to stop but still make pinging noise.

The Commander spoke first and said, **"That sounds like a pretty well-built plan except for two things. 1.) While there is a surplus of fallen men here and plenty of females; none of these females know the code of the military like we do, and 2.) You, yourself, is almost infamous. You are classified as a wanted criminal, everywhere, and should be caught dead or alive on sight."**

The other females had, also stated that they were not sure of their acting skills to be able to hold this impersonation for too long. The Females Leader sighed as she realized that their flaws were accurate, but no one else was coming up with a better idea, so she believed that she is good.

"**Ok. How about making you appear as rookie's who just got sent here as a part of the Commander's awaiting force, but you got ambushed by me, but I soon fell when the Commander came on the scene, and I was caught?"** I re-iterated the plan.

"**Rookies are not a bad idea as most everyone knows that newbies are almost like scared, Useless, females, because they fear making their Commander angry, so they stay quiet and obedient,"** said the Commander who was warming up to this plan. He, now, remembered why she make it to the rank of Commander, at least, before all of this mess started.

"**So, are we good?"** she questions the whole group, Commander included.

The group of females looked at their Leader, smirked, and said,** "Yes, Leader".**

The Commander was about as excited as the rest, and said, **"So, shall we get started?"**

The Female Leader nodded her head and they all got dressed in the fallen men's clothes, had stashed the bodies in the mind-wipe room, even going so far as to hook them up to the machine, and put me under arrest with a bag over my head to cover ears, my tail was wrapped around my waist under my shirt, and they made me wear my boots to cover my clawed feet, as the hand claws are retractable.

When everything was settled, the Commander gave explicit instructions to the impersonating female soldiers, then moved into position behind me and proceeded to march me out of the hall, and the soldiers followed at a fast, yet docile pace behind the Commander.

As the group moved toward the pinging sound, the Commander continued to march the group with precision toward the exit. When we turned the corner of the hallway that indicated where the exit was; we found out what that sound was coming from, and we, the Commander and I (even when I had a bag over my head – I could still see), were correct in our fear. The sound came from a small, ball-like, machine/drone that stood in front of the only exit out of the building (it was designed that way), and from the simulation we had with it in training , we had to state our intentions, and pass by scanning our I.D. cards.

"**STATE YOUR INTENTIONS," **stated the droid.

"**Escorting the Female ex-soldier to the King for interrogation and possible execution,"** stated the Commander, and he scanned his and my cards.

"**CONFIRMED INTENTIONS. WHO IS YOUR SUPPORT?"** questioned the droid.

"**This force that the hospital had loaned to me for just this mission. Confirm group 'G' for assistance to the Capital,"** re-stated to the droid from the Commander who had already walked past the droid and stood in the hallway near the exit.

"**CONFIRMING IDENTIFICATION CARDS…SCANNING…SCAN COMPLETE. ALL, BUT 2 MAY PASS. THE FIRST AND LAST MEMBER MUST STAY, AND BE SCANNED AGAIN AS THEIR CARDS COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED,"** stated the droid who stopped the first and last person from continuing forward.

The group moved past the droid without any argument, but the other two stayed behind to be re-scanned. Everyone held their breath in anticipation, and when the scan came back negative, their hearts stopped beating in fear, especially when the droid shot them with a dart that paralyzed them.

"**Are we clear?"** questioned the Commander who was making his emotions.

I knew that there would be casualties, and that is why I proposed the idea instead of ordering outright. I made sure that it was their decision, so that no one could blame me.

"**CLEAR. ENJOY YOUR MISSION, COMMANDER," **stated the droid as it alerted the police to the paralyzed victims.

"**Indeed. Alright, you rookies, let's get this criminal to the King, so we can get that reward, and when I say 'we', I meant 'me'. Is that understood?"** the Commander barked, which made the impersonating soldiers jump back into formation toward the first available vehicle that could house all of them.

As soon as the vehicle was obtained, and the criminal was bound to the center counsel area, and the group positioned in the back, did the females break down in tears at the loss of their comrades. The Commander was driving the vehicle with one hand, used his other hand to pet the bag that was still on top of the Female Leaders head, which he could feel hers ears were laid back.

"**It's not your fault, you know,"** he murmured to the bowed Leader.

"**I know, but it still hurts,"** whispered the Female Leader.

"**I know, but the only thing you can do is to move forward with mission, so that you can return to your true unit."**

"**Yes. The King's Guard is my job, and my mission is to infiltrate the local bandits and to find their true commander who leads the whole rebellion,"** stated the still monotone Leader.

"**Yes, that is correct, remember your mission, and everything should be right as rain,"** joked the Commander.

"**Yeah, right as rain,"** sighed the hurting ex-soldier who befriended and recruited those two females first after exiting the compound.


	10. Chapter 9

After the vehicle was parked; the still disguised group of females, the still covered Female Leader, and the Commander exited the vehicle, and entered a small, deserted, building that showed the signs of a-soon-to-be-demolition signing. (Meaning that the building was going to be demolished soon). The Commander ordered the group to search for any other people, or possible traps, so that the group could rest and plan their next move. The group of females hesitated, slightly, before they moved forward to follow his commands when the Female Leader didn't do anything to stop the Commander's ruling. When the group was dispersed, the Commander moved the Female Leader forward toward the abandoned building, and awaited for the assigned captain's clear, which was about ten minutes later.

**"The building is clear, _Commander_"**, sneered the Captain.

**"Good. Now, show me the way to a secluded part of the building, Captain,"** stated in a bored tone Commander.

**"Yes, _Commander_, right this way,"** snarled the Captain as she showed the Commander and the still bound Female Leader towards the second floor office.

The Commander pushed the still bound Female Leader forward into the building, and they followed the Captain toward the secluded part of the building. After the Commander and Female Leader reached the secluded part, the Commander dismissed the Captain with orders to set up a perimeter guard, and to wait for further orders. The Captain sneered at the Commander, but nodded and left with her orders. The Commander glared at the Captain's back as she walked away, but he let her be, because he had bigger fish to berate. The Commander maneuvered the quiet, still-bound, Female Leader to a chair, and left her alone, but first, he released her bound hands and took the bag off of her head. When the Commander moved away, and around to the other side, so that he sit across from her.

As the Leader sat there, stunned, and depressed; the Commander came over with a new chair, sat down, and faced the down ex-soldier.

**"So…"**

** "…"**

The Commander sighed when he received no answer, but he needed the Leader's attention. The Commander stared at the Leader, who didn't even twitch, as he reached forward and lifted her chin, so that he could look into her eyes. The Leader's eyes showed slight anger, deep sadness, and a faraway look, but she still was not present, so the Commander sighed again when he saw this.

**"SLAP"!** The Commander slapped the Female Leader, and she still didn't react. The Commander wasn't sure what to do next, so he moved to get one of the other females (maybe even the Nurse), but when the Commander stood, the Leader stood as well. The Commander was surprised, but it didn't show other than raising his eyebrow.

**"…"**

** "What?"**

** "…Don't…go…"**

** "Why?"**

** "Just…don't…go…"**

** "If you can't give me a reason, then I'll leave and get you someone else that you can speak to."**

** "…No…No one…else…"**

** "Fine, but if I stay, then you need to speak more. Got it?"**

** "Yes…sir,"** the Leader whispers.

**"Good. Now look up at me, and let's sit and talk, okay"?** The Commander compromises gently and proceeded to sit back down, which was mimicked by the Female Leader.

The Commander broke the ice first, **"So, tell me how you feel?"**

The Female Leader snorted, grinned, and looked up at the Commander, but once their eyes met, she stopped and glared before averting her eyes as the Commander narrowed his eyes.

**"Got Something to say, _Staff Sergeant_?" **The Commander glared at the Female Leader, who was still not looking at him.

**"…Nothing…sir…just that… (Sigh)…never mind,"** whispered the Female Leader.

The Commander tilted his head to the side as he watched this ex-soldier, who was the best-of-the-best, then she becomes like this; a shell-shocked Useless Female, and as the Commander, he could just leave her like this, or he could snap her out of it. In the end, the Female Leader saved him from making a choice by passing out.

The Commander jumped forward to grab the falling female, who had passed out, and moved her to the floor, in a straight-backed position, and he went around to check her vitals, which he found that the Female Leader was sporting a high fever, which was making her break out in sweat and shivers. The Commander sighed as he remembered that his female likes to keep her illness' to herself, and she won't let anyone know until it's too late when she's passed out from exhaustion or she passes out from her Commanding Officer (CO), who makes her either go to the med-tent, or to go rest in the barracks.

As the Commander lays her down on the floor, one of the other females had barged into the room looking like she wanted to start a fight, but stopped when she saw her Leader passed out on half on the floor and half in the Commander's arms. The female froze, but only for a second, before she saw that the Leader had trouble breathing, her face was flushed red and covered in a light sheen of sweat.

The Commander watched the female, who he later found out was the group's Nurse, approach the sick leader and before she touched the sleeping figure in his arms, the Nurse looked him in eyes. The only reason the Commander allowed the approach was because he knew about the Oaths that every medical must take, so he nodded at the silent request to check on the sick Leader, who by now was laid down on the floor with something soft used as a pillow, and he moved away to let the Nurse work.

Twenty minutes later, the Nurse gasped slightly which caught the attention of the Commander, who was by the Leader's side a second later.

**"What?! What's wrong?"** The Commander questioned urgently.

The Nurse raised herself back into an upright sitting position (from an almost bowed position earlier from the Leader's body), and looked over at the Commander with narrowed, speculating eyes, before she moved to a standing position and slowly approached the Commander, who was watching the Nurse slowly approach him.

**"Commander, sir, please remove your shirt, and stand at attention. There is something that I must confirm first before I can answer any questions that I'm sure you're going to have, but this is important to the life of our Leader."** The Nurse was still approaching, slowly, as if approaching an injured, wild animal.

The Commander wanted to protest, but decided that since he was going to get his questions answered anyway that he might as well do as the Nurse requested. He moved back a couple of steps, and proceeded to remove his shirt, arm guards, shoulder guards, and neck guard, and put them on the chair that he was sitting on before the Female Leader passed out, and he stood at attention when he was finished.

The Nurse came, and stood in front of the Commander a few minutes later. She looked him in the eyes, waiting for permission, which was granted, before she went about inspecting the torso. Ten minutes later, she gasped again, which made the Commander twitch. The Nurse moved back to stand in front of the Commander, but this time the Nurse was glaring at him. The Commander narrowed his eyes at her glaring eyes, before the Nurse smirked and turned away to approach the still sleeping figure on the floor. The Nurse squatted down, gently picked up her torso and head, before motioning the Commander to '_come over and look_'.

The Commander approached, still shirtless, around to the other side of the fallen Leader, and squatted down to near eye level of the Nurse.

**"Look. What do you see?"** Asked the still smirking Nurse, which she pointed to the back of the neck on the Female Leaders bowed head (courtesy of the Nurse).

The Commander looked at the intended area before he felt his own jaw drop at the mark that was not there before; the mark of a soul-mated pair is unique to each pair, and only the alpha-dominant can have their own symbol, which can tell how many other mates that the person can have. The number is not important, but the symbol is. The same symbol on his back is the same as on her neck.


End file.
